The losses are made clear in company returns on the public register at the Australian Securities Commission.
It is the closest Australia comes to the American system under which the President makes his tax return public each year.
Dr Hewson has two family companies, Brintmar Holdings Pty Ltd and Tobazo Pty Ltd.
Last year Tobazo lost $12,165 and Brintmar lost $4380. The companies are now worth $292,778 and $27,294 respectively, totalling $320,072. The 1991 financial year was better for the companies with profits totalling $56,717.
Brintmar caused some embarrassment for Dr Hewson earlier this month when it was revealed in a biography by Christine Wallace that use of the company vehicle enabled Dr Hewson to reduce his tax rate to about 15 per cent on much of his consulting income.
The shareholders of Brintmar include the Hewson children. Tobazo is owned by Dr and Mrs Hewson alone. Dr Hewson is a director of both companies.
Mr Keating’s companies are more complex.
His family company, Pleuron Pty Ltd made a loss of $1072 and is now worth (on paper) $473366. That company is a half owner of Euphron Pty Ltd which in turn is the ultimate holding company of 10 other companies: Brown and Hatton Group, Brown and Hatton Wholesale, Brown and Hatton Rural, Jensay, Olympia, Labvac, Olympia Interiors, Olympia Industries, Rincraft and Belesdan. Mr Keating is only a director of Pleuron, not of the other companies.
These are involved in piggeries, refrigeration manufacturing and retailing and investments.
They are also in a joint venture with a Danish company to produce pork for the Asian market using Danish technology and cheaper Australian feed and land. The joint venture is expected to provide 200 jobs. It is understood that the NSW Government has given or approved financial help for the joint venture. However, a Freedom of Information request about that funding was rejected this week on the ground that it was commercial-in-confidence.
The companies were asked by NSW authorities to waive their commercial-in-confidence rights, but they refused.
Mr Keating came under fire last year in the Senate and the press over the accounting procedures of the companies, in particular the increase in Euphron’s shareholders’ equity from $860,000 to $8.4 million in a few weeks. This put the Keating family’s value at $4.2 million on paper.
The accounts for the 1992 financial year straightens that out. Euphron has returned to a more modest $861,650 in shareholders’ equity after a loss during the year of $492.
It is difficult to work out the overall performance of the Euphron subsidiaries because no consolidated accounts are available. However, if inter-company transactions are ignored, collectively they lost $4.5 million last year. In total the companies are worth minus $4.5 million. However, with inter-company transactions accounted for, these losses and negative equities would improve.
Last year, they collectively lost $517,000 and were worth on paper $4.8 million, according to additions of the amounts on the returns.
Last year, audited accounts of the piggery companies revealed an auditor’s qualification that their continued existence was dependent upon the continued support of the companies’ bankers, the Commonwealth Bank, and the shareholders. Given the losses posted by the companies in the 1992 financial year, it would be fair to say that that situation continued.
The companies were not required to file audited accounts in 1992 because they were private companies for the whole year for the first time.
The best performer was Brown and Hatton Rural with a profit of $1.9 million and the worst was Brown and Hatton Group with a loss of $2.9 million.
The Keating family made an initial investment of $430,100 in Pleuron in 1991, according to returns of that company. Judging by the losses and shareholders’ equity posted by the subsidiaries in the 1992 financial year and the audited accounts of 1991, it is doubtful whether the investment is worth anything at all now.